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Organelle Speed Dating Game
Student Activity Sheet
The game cards – Red border organelle cards
Chloroplast
Chloroplast
Chloroplasts are the food producers of the cell.
The organelles are only found in plant cells and
algae and some protists. Animal cells do not have
chloroplasts.
Chloroplasts work to convert light energy from the
Sun into sugars that can be used by cells during
respiration. Their main role is to conduct
photosynthesis, where the photosynthetic pigment
chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight and
stores it in energy-storage molecules like ATP
while freeing oxygen from water.
The number of chloroplasts per cell varies from 1
in some algae up to 100 in plants like wheat.
Mitochondrion
Mitochondrion
One of the biochemical processes of the cell is
known as aerobic respiration. Many of the
reactions involved in aerobic respiration happen
inside a mitochondrion.
Mitochondria are the working organelles that keep
the cell full of energy. Mitochondria are often
referred to as the powerhouses of the cells.
Mitochondria range from 0.5 to 1.0 μm in diameter
and are found in nearly all eukaryotes.
Mitochondria are small organelles floating free
throughout the cell. Some cells have several
thousand mitochondria while others have none.
Muscle cells need a lot of energy so they have
loads of mitochondria. Neurons (cells that transmit
nerve impulses) don’t need as many.
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Nucleus
Nucleus
The nucleus is arguably the most important
organelle in the cell. It is the control centre, telling
all of the other organelles what to do and when to
do it. The nucleus also contains the cell's genetic
material.
The nucleus is surrounded by two membranes.
These membranes have many openings in them,
which allow for the transport of materials into and
out of the nucleus.
Prokaryotic cells lack a nucleus. In these
organisms (which include the bacteria), the genetic
material is free-floating within the cell membrane.
The genetic material of prokaryotes is a different
shape than that of eukaryotes, but it serves the
same function.
Nucleolus
Nucleolus
Found inside the cell's nucleus except in
prokaryotes. There may be more than one but
they disappear during cell division.
The nucleolus is the largest structure in the
nucleus of eukaryotic cells where it primarily
serves as the site of ribosome synthesis and
assembly. Nucleoli are made of proteins and RNA
and form around specific chromosomal regions.
Nucleoli also have other important functions like
assembly of signal recognition particles and
playing a role in the cell's response to stress.
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Plasmid
Plasmid
A plasmid is a small DNA molecule within a cell
that is physically separated from chromosomal
DNA and can replicate independently. Plasmids
can be found in bacteria as small, circular, doublestranded DNA molecules; however, plasmids are
sometimes present in eukaryotic organisms.
Often, the genes carried in plasmids provide
bacteria with genetic advantages, such as
antibiotic resistance. Plasmids have a wide range
of lengths, from roughly one thousand DNA base
pairs to many thousands of base pairs.
When a bacterium divides, all of the plasmids
within the cell are copied. Each daughter cell
receives a copy of each plasmid. Bacteria can also
transfer plasmids to one another through a process
called conjugation.
Ribosome
Ribosome
Making proteins is a very important job for a cell.
Ribosomes are small pieces of RNA and protein
found throughout the cytoplasm and on some other
organelles. Their only job is to assemble proteins.
DNA coding tells them which proteins to make.
Prokaryotic cells can have tens of thousands of
ribosomes. Eukaryotic cells can have hundreds of
thousands, if not millions of them, all making
proteins.
Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order
specified by messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules.
Ribosomes consist of two major components — a
small one which reads the RNA and a large one
which joins amino acids to form a polypeptide
chain. Each subunit is composed of ribosomal
RNA (rRNA) molecules and a variety of proteins.
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Vacuole
Vacuole
Plant cells have a single, large vacuole. Animal
cells have small vacuoles but also usually greater
in number than plants and often used for storing
food.
Vacuoles are fluid-filled sacs. They are the largest
organelle in plant cells. In general, the functions of
the vacuole include:
 isolating materials that might be harmful to the
cell
 containing waste products
 containing water in plant cells
 containing small molecules
 removing unwanted substances from the cell
 allowing plants to support structures such as
leaves and flowers due to the pressure of the
central vacuole.
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Blue border genetic material cards
Allele
Allele
An allele is one of a number of alternative forms of
the same gene. Different alleles can result in
different phenotypes, such as different eye colours
e.g. the gene for eye colour has an allele for blue
eye colour and an allele for brown. For any gene, a
person may have the same two alleles or two
different ones, i.e. they are diploid. These
chromosomes are referred to as homologous
chromosomes - one copy of each gene (and,
therefore, one allele) on each chromosome.
A recessive allele only shows if the individual has
two copies of it e.g. the allele for blue eyes is
recessive and two copies of this allele are needed
to have blue eyes. A dominant allele always
shows. Brown eyes are dominant. Only one copy
of it is needed to have brown eyes. Two copies will
still give you brown eyes.
Chromosome
Chromosome
Chromosomes are thread-like structures located
inside the nucleus of animal and plant cells. Each
chromosome is made of protein and a single
molecule of DNA. Passed from parents to
offspring, DNA contains the specific instructions
that make each type of living organism unique.
The unique structure of chromosomes keeps DNA
tightly wrapped around spool-like proteins. Without
such packaging, DNA molecules would be too long
to fit inside cells. For example, if all of the DNA
molecules in a single human cell were unwound
from their proteins and placed end-to-end, they
would be nearly 2 metres long.
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DNA
DNA
A DNA molecule contains the biological
instructions that make each species unique. DNA,
along with the instructions it contains, is passed
from adult organisms to their offspring during
reproduction. In eukaryotes, DNA is found inside
the nucleus. In prokaryotes it is found it is in the
cytoplasm in a nucleoid region. DNA is made of
chemical building blocks called nucleotides. To
form a strand of DNA, nucleotides are linked into
chains, with the phosphate and sugar groups
alternating. The four types of bases found in
nucleotides are: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine
(G) and cytosine (C). The sequence of these bases
determines the genetic code. For example, the
sequence ATCGTT might instruct for blue eyes,
while ATCGCT might instruct for brown.
Gene
Gene
Sections of DNA in each chromosome make up
genes. Each chromosome is made up of many
genes. The DNA also contains large sequences
that do not code for any protein and their function
is unknown. The gene of the coding region
contains instructions that allow a cell to produce a
specific protein or enzyme.
The genes that contain the information to make the
necessary proteins are therefore ‘switched on’ in
some of the specialised cells while the remaining
genes are ‘switched off’. For example, the genes
that are ‘switched on’ in kidney cells are different to
those that are ‘switched on’ in brain cells because
the cells of the brain have different roles and make
different proteins.
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RNA
RNA
RNA molecules are single stranded nucleic acids
composed of nucleotides. RNA plays a major role
in protein synthesis as it is involved in the
movement of the genetic code into the cytoplasm
where the proteins are constructed. It is also
involved in the ‘reading’ of the genetic code to
produce proteins. RNA nucleotides, like DNA
nucleotides, contain three components:
• a nitrogenous base
• a five-carbon sugar
• a phosphate group.
RNA bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine
(C) and uracil (U). Uracil is present instead of
thymine which is the 4th base in DNA.
messenger-RNA
messenger-RNA
Messenger RNA (mRNA) plays an important role in
the movement of the genetic code on DNA from
the nucleus to the cytoplasm.
A triplet of bases consists of three continuous
nucleotide bases that code for either an amino acid
or signal the end of the process of constructing a
chain of amino acids.
An enzyme is used to copy a single strand of DNA
making a messenger RNA molecule. When this
enzyme constructs the mRNA molecule from the
DNA strand, adenine pairs with uracil and cytosine
pairs with guanine (A-U and C-G).
At the end of the process, mRNA is transported to
the cytoplasm for the next stage of protein
synthesis.
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transfer-RNA
transfer-RNA
Transfer RNA (tRNA) plays an important role in the
construction of the amino acid chain – a
polypeptide. Its job is to convert the message
within mRNA into specific amino acid chains.
These are then folded to form a protein.
Transfer RNA is shaped like a clover leaf. It
contains an amino acid attachment site on one end
and a special section with a triplet of bases found
on it. This triplet is complementary to the triplet on
mRNA. Transfer RNA, along with ribosomes,
“reads” the mRNA triplets. When a complementary
base triplet is “read”, the tRNA with the correct
amino acid attached, adds the amino acid to the
polypeptide chain.
The polypeptide chain undergoes several
modifications before becoming a fully functioning
protein.
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Quiz
True
1
Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll which captures light energy.
2
Mitochondria are organelles found inside the nucleus.
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4
False
The nucleus is the control centre of the cell and is found in
eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.
The nucleolus is the largest structure in the nucleus and is
where the ribosomes are made.
Some structures found in bacteria are small, circular and
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made of a double-stranded DNA molecule and are separate
from the chromosomes. These structures are called plasmids.
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8
Ribosomes are the site of protein synthesis.
Plant cells usually have cells with many small vacuoles that
are used for storing food.
A dominant allele only shows if the individual has two copies
of it.
A chromosome is made of protein and a single molecule of
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deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
DNA is found inside the nucleus in prokaryotes.
The gene of the coding region encodes instructions that allow
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a cell to produce a specific protein or enzyme.
RNA bases include adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C)
and thymine (T).
Messenger RNA (mRNA) plays an important role in the
movement of the code on DNA into the cytoplasm.
Transfer RNA (tRNA) translates the message within the
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nucleotide sequence on mRNA into specific amino acid
sequences.
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